HALF-CENTURIES from Rob Key, Darren Stevens, Andrew Hall and an unwell Matt Walker helped Kent hold their own on a combative second day of Frizzell Championship cricket against Sussex.

The Division 1 leaders entertained a healthy Canterbury crowd with some attractive counter-attacking batting to reach 323 for six at the close to trail the visitors by just 55 going into day three.

Having used up 34 minutes to wrap up the Sussex innings for 378, Kent set about getting as close to parity as they could in the remaining 93 over of the day.

They made the worst possible start in losing skipper David Fulton for one in the second over of the reply, but went on to post steady partnerships thereafter.

Having regretted his decision to insert the opposition on day one, Fulton was soon regretting his ambitious hook shot at Jason Lewry’s second ball of the day – a bouncer that Fulton snicked into the gloves of Tim Ambrose.

It proved a minor set-back once Key and Martin van Jaarsveld (32) went on to add 93 runs in 28 overs for the second wicket before the South African, in trying to work a ball to point, lost his off stump to Mushtaq Ahmed.

Without ever looking at his most fluent, Key took his score on to 74 from 123 balls and with a dozen fours, before an over-ambitious back-foot force found the edge and flew to Chris Adams at slip.

With Walker struggling to shake off the effects of a chest infection, Stevens was promoted to bat at No4 and the former Leicestershire batsman let nobody down with an attractive 85-ball innings of 50 with seven fours and a six.

He was particularly harsh on Pakistan spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who bowled unchanged through the mid-session for figures of 24 overs one for 105.

The battle continued after tea, but just two balls after reaching his half-century Stevens aimed an ambitious back-foot force at a short ball from Naved that held its line up the slope to bowl Stevens through the gate.

Hall was also sent in ahead of Walker and faired even better than Stevens in hitting 10 fours in a championship best score of 68 from 103 balls.

The South African all-rounder enjoyed a feisty duel with James Kirtley in which the Sussex seamer sent down seven consecutive short-pitched deliveries.

Hall pulled the first five to the mid-wicket ropes, the sixth was called a no-ball, but the seventh induced Hall into another rash hook shot that picked out Michael Yardy running in from the mid-wicket ropes.

After an understandably sticky start, Walker began to flourish and, having lost Hall, went on to 57 with fellow left-hander Niall O’Brien.

Walker notched his half-century after two hours and from 90 balls while O’Brien enjoyed the luck of the Irish to add 34 including an eight – made up of an all-run four followed by four over-throws from the aggrieved bowler Lewry.

But three overs from stumps O’Brien paid for a loose square drive that took the bottom edge of his bat and shattered the stumps.

The sixth wicket ensured honours finished just about even as the game reached its mid-point.

SCORECARD

Sussex first innings

I J Ward c Fulton b Hall 100

R R Montgomerie run out (Walker) 21

M H Yardy b Khan 6

M W Goodwin c O’Brien b Hall 63

C J Adams c O’Brien b Cook 83

T R Ambrose b Cook 13

R S Martin-Jenkins c O’Brien b Saggers 2

Rana Naved c O’Brien b Patel 23

Mushtaq Ahmed c &b Stevens 7

R J Kirtley not out 21

J D Lewry c Saggers b Cook 4

Extras 35

Total 378 all out after 112.1 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-65, 2-79, 3-210, 4-211, 5-235, 6-240, 7-291, 8-298, 9-370.

Bowling: Saggers 20-1-65-1, Khan 15-1-65-1, Hall 24-1-73-2, Cook 24.1-11-57-3, Stevens 19-2-43-1, Patel 10-1-51-1.

Kent first innings

D P Fulton c Ambrose b Lewry 1

R W T Key c Adams b Lewry 74

M van Jaarsveld b Ahmed 32

D I Stevens b Naved-ul-Hasan 50

A J Hall c Yardy b Kirtley 68

M J Walker not out 55

N J O’Brien b Martin-Jenkins 34

M M Patel not out 0

Extras 9

Total 323 for six after 93 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-9, 2-102, 3-142, 4-187, 5-264, 6-321

Bowling: Kirtley 19-6-73-1, Lewry 19-5-63-2, Martin-Jenkins 11-2-24-1, Naved-ul-Hasan 15-1-33-1, Mushtaq Ahmed 29-1-123-1.